Sony Warns of Overheating Laptops

It's being dubbed a "voluntary recall," but the company responsible says it might not be all that bad.

The issue affects more than half a million Vaio notebooks, which Sony is warning could overheat "in rare instances" as a result of a software bug. Many of the affected units are only available in Japan, and Sony has logged 39 instances of overheating laptops since January, according to the Consumer Product Safety Commission.

Sony explains that consumers don't need to send their notebooks back, but can fix the software bug with a BIOS update. Hardware Central has the details.

Sony Electronics has issued a recall for more than a half a million Vaio notebooks sold this year due to a software bug that could lead them to overheat, according to a company alert issued Wednesday.

While the notification is being referred to as a "voluntary recall" by the Consumer Product Safety Commission, a letter posted to Sony's website by Mike Lucas, senior vice president for Vaio products, makes it clear customers don't need to send in their notebooks -- they merely need to download and run a BIOS update.